As the title suggests I a often paranoid that I am not doing the right thing for my fish, particularly Dorian... I look at his tail and stuff sometimes and notice the slightest imperfection and then worry that I did something to cause it. Hahaha. And then I look at the first photos I took of him and realise he was like that all along.
I want to be the best fish owner I can be and so sometimes I get really concerned. Sometimes I think I worry /too/ much... how about you?
And what signs is there (apart from bubble nesting, Dorian makes fabulous bubble nests) that my fish are happy?

At the moment I am worried because his tail doesn't sit so smoothly anymore- like it used to sit really wide and pretty... and now it's sort of folded alot.
When he flares it is still normal though. So I don't know if this is a problem or not .

I ALWAYS worry about my fish. Anything that looks out of place causes me to panic and study earlier photos to make sure nothing is wrong. I feel horrible every time something goes wrong!

I'm glad I am not the only one who feels like that! I always study old photos as well as coming on here and comparing photos of other people's fish to make sure that it's alright/normal.
And being particularly new and inexperienced in looking after fish adds to my worrying I think! I really am loving looking after fish and I would hate for something to go wrong so soon.

I think that is the same with me. I've only been 'seriously' keeping bettas since September last year (I think) so I haven't got a wealth of knowledge about health conditions etc, so everything makes me nervous, just like a first time mum I expect :P

Don't worry, you're a normal fish owner. :) I freak out if I can't find them in their tank even though I know that they're probably hiding in their plant. A couple months ago one of my females jumped onto my other females side and they ripped each other basically to shreds. They're doing great now and their fins are healing great, but I still check their tank a lot to make sure that they're on their right sides.

Contrary to the myth, bubblenesting is an instinct, not a sign of 'happiness'. Many fish crammed into betta cups blow spectacular bubblenests while some may never observe a betta in a 5g heated tank make a single bubblenest. There are some earmarks of a healthy fish though...

The other two easiest things you can do to make sure everything is going smoothly in your betta tank are:

1) Buy a test kit and test the water often. It's good to keep tabs on parameters. One of the easiest ways you can make sure your tank is up to scratch.
2) Keep it clean! Stock low, filter well, add plants and change your water on time!

I also recommend the feeding of frozen/live food. Even a few times a week will produce big improvements in overall health. I started out with a pack of bloodworms and brine shrimp and eventually built the menu up to 6 types of frozen on to of dry feedings.

Thankyou for the information Kelly! I guess Dorian is fine then...
He is always really excited when his food comes, lol, when I put the pellets in (2 in the morning, 2 in th night) h swims to the surface excitedly and gobbles them down.
He is always swimming around the tank fine, and as far as I can see he has no disease.

I'll grab some frozen brineshrimp or bloodworms from the pet store on my way to get the groceries today.

As for his tail this morning it seems fine again :o I guess the water was just cold last night- normally the room temperature is high enough that I do not need a heater but last yesterday it got pretty darn cold.
I'll put a few dollars aside a week to put towards a heater when it gets to winter.

I get worried about my betta having stress stripes when I move him. I watch him for hours (not exaggerating) even though I know he will be fine. Now I'm not to sure about him being okay, so I worry even more.

You are doing fine with Dorian! You are probably doing better than I am with your bettas than I am doing with mine. I can only see mine 2-5 times a week too :(

I somewhat disagree with Kelly.. a male that is "happy" and secure in his environment is more likely to bubblenest than a stressed out fish. Maybe happy isn't the right word but I know for a fact that when my fish dont like something.. whether it be dirty water, too mcch light, etc the first sign is they stop bubblenesting.